Stocker Trout Fishing News

Originally published January 4, 2015 Cold temps and short on time; no Trout Reports today. Did get a snippet from Fshng84 who went fishing at the Feeder Creek to Bethany. He reported little Bluegill/Sunfish on Soft Hackle and Tiny Midges. Looked like fun especially on a 3 Weight Fly Rod. Did note that the Tiny Midge used was the same one used on the Blue River when a midge hatch starts up and the Trout start slurping them up just before they break the surface. Video of the Bluegill/Sunfish action

Another stop on the commute this morning. Back to Duck Creek with the Foam Grasshopper Beavertail variant. Saw several Bass but no takers. Luckily, the Sunfish were active! One was a nice sized one that put a bend in the Discount Switch Rod!

Been fighting a cold but did breakaway for a quick trip to the local lake – Bethany Lakes, on a warm December afternoon. Brought the TFO 6 Wt and 6/7 Wt Echo Ion Reel for a go at the fish. Back pond was clobbered with growth, did see a few bass moving about. Found a clear area and caught a little Bass on an Olive Near Deere. Moved on to the Main pond and after changing flies a few times, caught Bluegill using a Griffith’s Gnat and PMC Emerger. Decided to check out the canal and the waterfall; caught little Bluegill on the PMC Emerger… was more Micro Fishing then Fishing. Still fun, may have to come back with the Kiyotaki 18 Tenkara Rod!

Had only a short amount of time to fish after work today. No problems, able to cruise along on the standup longboard, make it to the local pond, and catch a fish or two with the Micro Fly Rod! Fun times… even got to practice casting the variant of the Perry Poke we like using with the 5wt we normally use! Elk Hair Caddis testing continues as well with about twenty fish caught using the pattern detailed by Tightline which calls for wire or tinsel ribbing to go over the dubbing body but under the hackle.  

Tough time fishing lately, even with time off from work… pulled away with other “fam bam” commitments. No worries, been having a great time enjoying good food, strong drinks, live music, and great friends! Day job has impacted things as well, but did hook the fishing partner with a new kayak… got my Heritage Featherlite back; partner gets a Pelican Catch 100… liking the chair, the stability, and the ease of standing up in it! Hope to get some video clips while we are out kayak fishing, till then… making do with some pond fishing at Kroger Park in Allen and Crowley Park in Richardson.

A quick trip to Bethany Lakes using the OPST Commando Head and a backup 9’wt Fly Rod. Setup cast well and made for easy distance casting either Roll Cast, Switch Cast, and other Spey style casts. No Bruisers but did get four fish to take our fishing fly – a Bluegill, a Sunfish, and two Bass of which one was a fingerling. Still lots of fun!

Decided to fish the pond by the Cinemark Theater in Allen this morning. Looks like it is called Cottonwood Trail… been a while since we fished it last. Was not sure what would be biting. As it turned out, it was Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish. Scrappy fighters that put up a great fight on the 5wt! Near Deere worked well but lots of vegetation made it tough to fish, plus kept fouling the back cast. Switched to a Foam Grasshopper and had some strikes but the Size 10 hook was too large for the little Bluegill. Tied on the Foam Damsel Fly Variant and caught a couple of fish but broke the tail after snagging a tree. Settled on the Red Damsel Fly and worked holes in the vegetation, dropping the fly in the hole and letting it sink slowly. Had one nice Bass take but it threw the hook. Else, it was little Bass and Bluegill and Sunfish. Still a fun time! PS: Great meeting another fisherman at the pond this morning. Looked like he caught a few fish, too!    

Early start this morning had us fishing Bethany Lakes with the Foam Grasshopper in size 14. Caught several fish – little Bass and Bluegill. Then, had brunch in Dallas at the Katy Trail Ice House, followed by a little hiking on the Katy Trail. While out and about checked out Turtle Creek and saw lots of Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish. Good thing we like to keep the Kiyotaki 18 Tenkara Rod handy when hiking. In short order, caught several fish including a few Longear Perch using the Marilyn Monroe Tenkara Fly! Always good to wet a line when anywhere near fish holding waters! PS: For more info about the rod, check out TenkaraBum’s site – http://www.tenkarabum.com/shimotsuke-kiyotaki.html

Follow-up video of the action we saw while scouting a local pond for Catfish. Had a number of Catfish look at our bait and many more Sunfish and Bluegill peck at our bait. Fun time but ended this round without a Catfish. One did bend our hook to get away though!  

Been out of pocket this past week but did make it the Bethany Lakes this evening to end the work week and to start the weekend. What better way to do so, then wetting a line and fishing a pond! This round it was two Bass, and then several Bluegill and Sunfish. All went for a Green Foam Grasshopper… bummer though, lost the fishing fly to a snag to end this round.

Decided to do some underwater video scouting at Celebration Park’s North Pond with the Water Wolf Camera. Have not used the camera in a while nor fished the pond recently. But, was able to confirm the Bluegill and Sunfish are still in the pond as well as Catfish!

Tied three more Green Foam Grasshopper to replace the one we lost yesterday. Then, made the run to Bethany for more fun fishing with the Switch Rod. Ended up with a Bluegill, Sunfish, and three Bass… and only one Grasshopper left. No worries… lots of fun still and luckily the pattern is simple and quick to tie!     Gear used: Lamson Liquid 4 Fly Reel Rio Switch InTouch Chucker Line #5 Cabelas TLR Switch Rod (11′-4pc-6wt / Model TLR-1106-4)

Mid-week hump day has us at Bethany Lakes for more Switch Rod casting practice. Started with a Clouser for the fishing fly, but switched to a Green Foam Grasshopper after seeing surface activity as we walked the Main Pond. Missed a couple before hooking one. Brought it to the bank and it managed to throw the hook. Got video of the “release”, so counting this one in today’s total – 5 Bass this round and a Sunfish. Did lose the Green Foam Grasshopper to a snag. Had one more in the fly box in the Yellow, so was able to keep getting strikes!

Had a fun time yesterday fishing Bethany using the 5wt Fly Rod and a Foam Grasshopper. Took a little to find where they were but once found able to catch a mix of Bluegill, Shellcracker and Bass.  Did lose the Grasshopper but did get a fish with a Pink Near Deere and another on a Rainbow Warrior. In the mix were several Bruiser Bluegill and Shellcracker as well as a couple of Bass that threw the fly. No worries… always a good time when fishing!   #flyfishing this evening. #bluegill #bass #sunfish #shellcracker this round! Caught most with #foamgrasshopper but did get one fish each with #neardeere and #rainbowmidge A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on May 10, 2017 at 8:42pm PDT

Able to get a round of fishing in this evening. Caught Bass, Bluegill, and Sunfish while fly fishing at Bethany Lakes. Went with a Foam Grasshopper to get them today! Hoping the colder temps are done, and we can get back to kayak fishing!   Able to wet a line and go #fishing this evening. #bass #bluegill #sunfish went for a green #foamgrasshopper …opted for the 5wt #flyfishing this round! #flytying A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on May 1, 2017 at 7:26pm PDT

Quick trip this evening to a local pond. Been tough breaking away to fish during the past week. But, did get to wet a line this evening. Fished with the two piece Micro Fly Rod and a Beetle pattern from Kenduardo’s Lure and Fly. Shortly after arriving, hooked up with a couple of Sunfish, and then lost the fly to something bigger! Switched to an egg pattern and got a couple of Bullheads to take!   #flyfishing quick trip to a local pond. Fished a #beetle pattern from Kenduardo’s Lure and Fly! Caught two #sunfish using the #microflyrod …lost the fly to something big though! A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Apr 8, 2017 at 7:18am PDT

Fished Bethany this evening and caught a mixed bag of Bass, Bluegill, Sunfish, and a Shellcracker. Used a Guadalupana, a Foam Grasshopper, a Damsel Fly, and a PMC Emerger Variant to catch them this round! Fun stuff.. pics and a short snipped of one of the Bass and the Shellcracker begin caught! #flyfishing this evening. Caught #bluegill #bass #sunfish #shellcracker on #guadalupana #foamgrasshopper #damselfy #pmcemerger variant! A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Mar 10, 2017 at 6:49pm PST   Short clip of this evening’s action… #bass on a #foamgrasshopper and #shellcracker on a #damselflies A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Mar 10, 2017 at 7:57pm PST Fishing Log: 3/10/17 Bethany Lakes – Various Ponds and Canal (Allen) 17:15 – 18:50 Clear, “Short Sleeves”, Calm Redington Classic Trout 5wt – 9′ Echo Ion 4/5 Reel – 6wt Fly Line Comments Bass were in their beds but really finicky; ignoring fis...

Fished Bethany Lakes on a quick trip using fly fishing gear to test a new pattern – Near Guad. It’s a combination of the Near Deere and the Guadalupana. Had one Bass look at it, else no takers. Switched to a smaller Guadalupana and caught a Sunfish and a Bluegill, then put on a Griffith’s Gnat and caught several more… fun time!   Log Book Entry: 3/08/17 Location: Bethany Lakes – Feeder Creek (Allen) Time: 18:00 – 18:45 Weax: Clear, “Long Sleeve”, Calm Rod: Redington Classic Trout 5wt – 9′ Reel: Echo Ion 4/5 – 6wt Flyline   Comments: Fished the Back Pond and had one Bass follow the Near Guad. But, it did not take it. Moved to the Feeder Creek and caught a Sunfish and Bluegill on a Guadalupana. Later, changed the fishing fly to a Griffith’s Gnat as there were a number of strikes but no solid hook ups. Caught several more Sunfish and Bluegill with the Griffith’s Gnat. Fished a little after dark and left them biting!   Lan...

Quick trip to Murphy City Complex Pond for a go at trout. Had one on the line but lost it using a PMC Emerger. Else, had one Sunfish go for a Guadalupana to save us from striking out. No worries, still a good time fishing!   Can’t catch them all. #flyfishing quick trip gets one #sunfish on a #guadalupana …did get a #trout on the line but lost it while bring it in. A post shared by COAF Field Team (@coaf.field.team) on Feb 28, 2017 at 5:12pm PST

Made a quick trip to Celebration Park with the two piece Micro Fly Rod. Used a PMC Emerger Variant to catch a little Sunfish and then a fish we do not know about… calling it the “unknown fish” for now. Lots of fun even though it was only 30″ of fishing! PS: Dark conditions made for hazy video at times but audio remains good. Log Book Entry: 1/30/17 Location: Celebration Park – North Pond (Allen) Time: 18:00 – 18:30 Weax: Clear, “Short Sleeves”, Calm Rod: Two Piece Micro Fly Rod 00WT – 4’3″ Reel: Go Fast and Light Micro Fly Reel – Level Fly Line from 5wt running line portion   Comments: Warm day with temps in the 70s. Short on time, decided to check out Celebration Park to see how the Sunfish and Bluegill were doing. Hatch was going on and could see the little Sunfish and Bluegill feeding on them. Several on the line but only managed two fish. Need to go with smaller than a size 16 fishing fly next time.   Landed...